


A Small Town of Big Hearts

by HyperSpikes



Series: 4 times Sonic saved Green Hills (+1 time Green Hills saved Sonic) [5]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: 4 times +1 time, Found Family, Gen, Hunters, Hurt/Comfort, Tranquilizers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22779445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyperSpikes/pseuds/HyperSpikes
Summary: Sonic is tranquilized by amateur hunters from upstate. To say the residents of Green Hills are pissed is a major understatement.
Relationships: Maddie Wachowski/Tom Wachowski
Series: 4 times Sonic saved Green Hills (+1 time Green Hills saved Sonic) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607812
Comments: 36
Kudos: 466





	A Small Town of Big Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This is the final story for my "4 Times Sonic saved Green Hills (+1 Time Green Hills saved Sonic)" series. Thank you to everyone who stuck around from the beginning!

Night had just fallen when Tom felt a sudden surge of electricity zap the surface of his skin. The lights in his house dimmed and flickered for just a moment before returning to normal. He placed the dishes he was washing back into the sink and turned his attention to Maddie, who’d looked up from her book to meet his eyes.

After Sonic had come into their lives, feeling an odd breeze or a static tingle on his skin every now and then had become somewhat normal. It wasn’t just the Wachwoski’s who noticed these strange occurrences, either. Many of the other townsfolk had pointed out these “electric tremors” during conversation, but they never seemed bothered by them. After all, they knew the creature responsible for the tremors didn’t mean any harm. It was just a part of his makeup, and they were more than ready to accept that.

But the electric tingle that he’d felt mere moments ago had been more than a little buzz on his skin. It felt more like a _zap_ – unpleasant and unexpected. He knew right away that something was wrong, and from the look on Maddie’s face and the knock at his front door from a concerned next-door neighbor, he realized he wasn’t the only one.

Before long, many of his other neighbors had showed up in his front yard, questioning him about Sonic, where he was, and if everything was okay. He didn’t have an answer for any of them, but then he heard the sharp sounds of crackling electricity and the thick rustle of leaves as something fast stumbled through the dark forest near his home. Everyone looked into the darkness and watched in silent apprehension as Sonic’s small and spiked form tumbled out from the forest.

His fur sizzled with electricity. Tom instinctively kneeled down to meet Sonic at his level, but he wasn’t prepared for the sudden blow to his chest as Sonic sloppily tackled him before clinging onto him. The hedgehog was clearly panicked and afraid. Something was horribly wrong.

“Sonic?! What’s going on? What the hell – ?!”

Tom felt his grip on Sonic grow a little tighter when Sonic’s own vice-like grip on him grew weaker. Sonic began to slump into Tom’s arms, his green eyes dazed and unfocused. Tom spun his head around, wildly looking for Maddie amongst the other townspeople who were peering over his shoulder to get a look at the hedgehog. Upon finding her, he called out to her urgently.

“Maddie!”

The frantic tone in Tom’s voice was all it took for Maddie to jump into veterinarian mode. She rushed over to Tom’s side and took Sonic into her own hands. The moment she grabbed him, her eyes narrowed, and she gently took hold of something embedded in Sonic’s back. After pulling it out, she held it up to inspect it and felt her heart sink into her stomach.

“Someone shot him with a tranquilizer,” she said, her voice shaking just a little bit. “Whoever shot him might not be far away. We need to –”

Everyone turned their attention to the forest again when they heard more rustling coming from deep within. Someone – or some people – were making their way towards them. Voices were conversing with each other playfully, and one of them let loose a thick laugh as they continued chatting with each other leisurely. Their boots crunched over twigs and branches, and Tom quickly whispered to Maddie to take Sonic inside. She did so, and Tom stood up to his full height, prepared to apprehend whoever had shot his friend. A few of the rougher residents – including Logan – took to standing with Tom, and he didn’t stop them.

Finally, a small group of people stepped out from the shadows. They were dressed to blend in with the dark. One of them held the offending weapon in a sling over his shoulder. Tom inwardly thanked the universe that it hadn’t been a more lethal weapon.

As the newcomers stepped out from the forest and into the dimly-lit neighborhood, they quirked their eyebrows and glanced around in confusion at the odd display of people standing around in front of a house. One of the women in the group asked aloud where “it” went, to which her teammates shrugged and began glancing around. The one holding the tranquilizer gun seemed to feel the waves of anger and disgust that rolled off the townspeople. He was a young man – maybe in his late twenties – and he scowled back at the townsfolk as if to mock their angry stares.

“Can I help you?” He asked in irritation, puffing out his chest a little and slinging the tranquilizer gun off his shoulder and into his hands. Despite his obvious attempts to appear tougher than he was, he couldn’t help but visibly shrink back when Tom and two of the burlier townsfolk took a few steps forward. “Tch! Wh-what are _you_ gonna do?”

Tom saw the hunter look anxiously over to one of his teammates, who shook his head and puts his hands up in a defensive stance. “Okay,” Tom muttered under his breath as he fumbled around in his jacket pocket. He found his wallet, took out his badge, and showed it to the hunter. “Sherriff Wachwoski of Green Hills. You do realize hunting in these forests near Green Hills is banned?”

The newcomers appeared to be stunned into silence, but the lead hunter wouldn’t be made fun of in front of his team. “Of course not. Do I look like a local to you?” He retorted.

_You look like a dumbass,_ was what Tom wanted to say, but he refrained from his usual antics and chose to ignore the other’s blatant rudeness. “It’s a pretty hefty fine if you're caught hunting around these parts,” was all he said instead.

“You make it sound like I care,” The hunter said with way too much pride in his voice. One of the women in the group nudged him in irritation and shushed him. The others didn’t seem to take too kindly to the lead hunter’s behavior and, as they each took turns whispering about how they didn’t have a stack of cash lying around, they looked more ready to apologize than anything else.

“Sheriff, we didn’t know that it was illegal here,” one of them said.

“Yeah, we’re… we can just go… Sorry,” another said sheepishly.

  
“Sorry isn’t going to make your fine disappear,” Tom said sternly. _Especially since you tranquilized my friend._ "And I’m _really_ not in the mood to put up with your sorry asses tonight.” As the hunters waited with bated breath, Tom whipped out his phone and gave the police station a call. He knew Bill was on-duty tonight, which meant his co-worker could take care of these morons so he could focus on helping Sonic.

“Oh, sheriff, we can just leave!” The woman in the group said frantically. “We won’t come back.”

“No, there’s a reason people are banned from hunting around here,” Tom said as he waited for Bill to pick up the phone. “There are _people_ living around here. Someone could have gotten hurt, and you know what? Someone did.”

. . .

Bill showed up a few minutes later and took the four hunters back to the police station to pay their fine. Tom and the townsfolk watched as the amateur hunters were led into the vehicle. No one took their eyes off them until the car had disappeared over the hill.

When Tom finally went back inside, he headed over to the living room where Maddie was. Sonic was lying on the couch, a blanket resting atop his prone form and his head propped up onto a pillow. The hedgehog was completely unconscious but breathing steadily. Maddie had deduced that the dosage Sonic had been given wasn’t enough to seriously harm him, but it was definitely more than was necessary to put him out. The dart she’d taken out of him attested to her theory. She only hoped she was right.

It was about an hour after the hunters had left when Sonic finally began showing signs of waking up. Maddie knew Sonic would be dizzy and nauseous, so she’d prepared beforehand with a glass of water and a bowl in case he needed to throw up. He let out a tiny groan and raised an arm to rub his eyes as he slowly sat up. The motion seemed to aggravate his nausea, however, and he mumbled a “bleh” as he slumped back down onto the couch.

“Take it easy,” Maddie said gently as she eased Sonic into a sitting position again to hand him a glass of water. “Drink some water and you’ll feel better.”

Sonic took the glass and sipped from it almost mechanically. His eyes were dull and tired, but the water seemed to help him get his bearings. As he finished what was left in the glass, he leaned back into the couch and let out a tired sigh.

“I feel sick,” he murmured. “What did I eat?”

“My shirt, when you ran face-first into my chest,” Tom said, his voice playful and sarcastic despite the concerned expression he wore. Maddie lightly scolded him and rolled her eyes, to which he snorted and rolled his eyes right back at her. “But, uh, being serious?” Tom said, all mirth from his demeanor gone. “Some idiots from upstate tranquilized you in the forest.”

“You ran right back to our house and into Tom’s arms,” Maddie added. “… Do you remember anything?”

“I ‘member feeling scared,” Sonic mumbled truthfully. “That’s it.”

Tom and Maddie exchanged a look with each other and seemed to mutually decide that if Sonic didn’t remember, it’d be best to keep it that way.

“Well, I’m glad you were able to haul yourself back home,” Tom said softly as he sat down next to Sonic on the couch. _I just hope those dumbasses don’t come back._ True to his word, Tom was definitely happy Sonic was going to be okay. But a part of him was fuming at the fact that Sonic still wasn’t safe, even in their little town. He knew the hedgehog was powerful and could defend himself. Sonic was, without a doubt, the fastest creature alive. And yet, somehow, these amateur hunters had been able to gun him down.

The thought irritated him to no end, and he expressed his concerns with Maddie before bed that night.

“You did what you could, Tom,” she said. “You _protected_ him. That’s what you became a police officer for, right?” She paused, letting the thought sink in. “There will always be cruel people in the world. But you’ll be there to protect the good ones from the bad, just like you did tonight.”

Sonic could defend himself. But everyone needed a little saving from time to time, and Tom found solace in the fact that he was able to help Sonic tonight, just like how Sonic had helped him – and many others in Green Hills – so many times before. 


End file.
